Even if you don’t live off the grid, I think it is better to have appliances that don’t require electricity. After all, you never know when you might lose it for a day, a week, or forever. For me, being able to sustain your lifestyle regardless of outside help, like electricity or grocery stores, is what homesteading and sustainability are all about.
There are some things that I find that I could not do without in my kitchen, that some modern folks may find strange. My grandma would not have found them strange at all. Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways.
Homestead Kitchen Must Haves
1. My percolator – this old boy makes the very best coffee! No filter or electricity needed. Just put in the coffee, fill it with water and put it on the stove burner. It also works on a wood stove, camp stove or open fire. Just about the most versatile coffee making device you will ever have. Try that with your Keurig!
2. Manual egg beater – I use my manual beater all the time. It is so much more convenient that dragging out the big electric mixer, and clean up is a snap. Not to mention, of course, that it works when you have no electricity, with makes it also a “must have” for your camping trips!
3. Cast iron skillet – this is something that you buy once and have forever. It never wears out, and like my percolator, you can cook with it just about anywhere there is heat. You can set it in the middle of a roaring campfire to cook your catch just as easily as set it on your stove to fry your morning eggs. A cast iron skillet is timeless, and no homestead kitchen should be without one.
4. Manual meat grinder – the meat grinder I have, I inherited from my mother. It is cast iron and weighs a ton. It also works as well today as it did when she bought it in 1950. Can you think of any other item that you can say that about? It clamps to the side of a table or counter and you simply press the meat into the top and crank the handle. It has different tip for fine or coarse end product. This is a definite “must have” if you butcher your own meat.
5. Meat Thermometer – I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good quality meat thermometer. On or off the grid, getting sick from eating undercooked meat is serious. Having a meat thermometer and using it is an easy way to make sure your meat is cooked and safe to eat. It is especially important when cooking in a wood stove or over an open fire, not to mention an absolute necessity when cooking in a solar oven.
Some people might complain that manual kitchen items are less convenient, take more time, are harder to clean, and so on. For me, it’s not about quickness, or convenience, it is about self reliance, and living in a way that is close to our roots and sustainable, in bad times as well as in good.
I loved my percolator before it broke (who knew you could break corning-ware?) BUT, it’s rather useless should you loose access to “outside help.” Beyond coffee I’m not certain what you’d do with it, and unless you live in South America, coffee is a luxury you will quickly find yourself without! I would say a good old fashioned tea pot would be more versatile and will allow you to boil a larger amount of water (for heating baths or melting ice) in an emergency. Plus, if you have a tea strainer you can easily make coffee right in the cup!